


Nail Polish

by sannidings



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 19:55:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13442196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sannidings/pseuds/sannidings
Summary: Tumblr prompt gone out of control: Hannibal doing bedelia's toes nail because she's 7 months pregnant and can't do it.





	Nail Polish

**Author's Note:**

> This... Thing has been my downfall.   
> It took me over a year to find a proper ending, and even with this ending I am not totally satisfied.   
> This fic blocked every sense of creativity I had in me. So I thought I am just going to post it now, in one go, and not in chapters like planned at first. 
> 
> I hope you like it like this and it would make my day if you would leave a positive review to boost my feelings :)   
> I love you!

Cursing, she perched her foot on the edge of the bathtub to reach her toenails. She is stretching her arm, turning her hand to different angles but not succeeding to bring the little drop of nail polish, perched on the brush, to its final destination.  
  
With a huff she sat down on the closed toilet seat, twisting shut the bottle of nail polish, and deciding that her attempts were fruitless. She wouldn’t be able to reach her feet anytime soon again, so she figured her toenails could wait for a fresh layer of polish.  
  
She sighed and looked down her legs to figure out how to shave her legs, now that she wasn’t able to reach her feet. This task would be easier, she thought, it wasn’t as fiddly as painting her nails. After switching the old blade on her razor for a new one, she made another attempt to reach, at least, her ankle. The handle was easier to guide around her form and with some effort she was able to bring her legs into a respectable shape again.  
  
Gladly she hadn’t showered before, she thought, just the little task of shaving had exhausted her into a sweating mess.  
“Just 8 more weeks to go…” she mumbled to herself while placing one of their soft towels onto the heater.  
  
The hot water of the shower relaxed the tense muscles in her back, stressed from the weight she was carrying around. The smell of her jasmine shower gel surrounded her and lulled her into relaxation until standing in the shower itself was getting hard to bear. Bedelia released the steam that filled their bathroom through the small window while reaching for the preheated towel to dry her up.  
  
When she stepped into the bedroom, she carried the smell of Jasmine with her, making the figure on the bed turn into her direction, inhaling deeply. “Sleep a little longer, it’s too early for you to get up,” she whispered into the darkness and disappeared into the walk in closet.  
  
Another point that diminished the happiness of her current state was the task of dressing. Frowning she stood in front of her wardrobe, trying to find something that still fits. Since she always had been a small person it wasn’t a big problem to find maternity clothes. The only thing was, being pregnant with twins when someone was as small as she was, started to be a problem, now she had hit her third trimester.  
  
Most days she wore Hannibal’s pajama pants, they were loose fitting and she could tie them over her swollen belly, but today she had to leave the house for an appointment and she wasn’t sure it was appreciated when she showed up in men’s clothes.  
  
She decided to wear one of her loose fitting dresses, they rode up higher on her thighs because of her fullness, but it was still better than nothing. The only thing that made her worry was her stockings. She had no pantyhose that fitted left and she wasn’t sure if she should wear her stockings and garter belt in her state.  
  
Frowning over her wardrobe she hadn’t heard the doors of the closet opening and Hannibal strolling in. He snaked his warm hands around her waist but stopped before they reached her belly and pulled her body against his. He buried his nose in her still damp hair, inhaling deeply before his lips made their way down from her head, to her ear until they reached the cheek. She turned her head to him, capturing his mouth in a chaste good morning kiss. “You could have slept longer, I just got up because your little aliens didn’t let me sleep any longer,” she murmured while turning completely in his arms. She wanted to wrap her arms around his waist as well, but her stomach was huge between them and didn’t allow her to cuddle against his chest.  
  
“See they are already trying to separate us,” she whined and let her arms fell to her sides again. Hannibal chuckled and pulled her close again, turning her a bit sideways so that her body could be pressed against his. “See, this way it works,” he said and let his fingers trail down her naked back.  
Goosebumps eroded where his fingertips caressed her naked spine, and she tilted her head up to him. He stood nearly one and a half heads taller than her, but she still could wrap her arms around his neck. Her fingers tangled in the soft hair on the nape of his neck, a bit damp from the warmth in their bedroom and messy from sleep. She liked him best just after he woke up, he had discarded his person suit then and when she erased all what had happened before they went to Florence she could bring her mind to think this was what they were here for. For them. Not to escape the police, the FBI, Will Graham and Jack Crawford.  
  
As if they were sensing the thoughts of her mother, the babies in her womb began to move, pressing against her taunt flesh and organs while looking for a more comfortable position.  
The sudden movements made her loosen her arms around his neck and bring her hands to her still naked belly. She could feel then through her skin, their little feet and hands pressing against her own hands and a smile formed on her face.  
His hands twitched, wanting to touch her belly too. But until now, his requests had always been denied.  
  
Hannibal couldn’t figure out why, and she refused to tell him, but he longed to feel his children, their small bodies moving inside of her and to get a glimpse of what she must feel when she pressed her hands to her stomach.  
His eyes searched for hers, asking the silent question again. The denial came, as expected, when she turned her body away from him, busying herself with the task to search for wearable clothes again.  
He understood.  
When Bedelia had picked the dress from its hanger and turned, Hannibal was gone from the walk in closet. She closed her eyes and let a shaky breath escape her throat. On the end of the hallway she could hear a door slam, his office door, she supposed.  
She shoved the dark thoughts away that made their way into her head once more, and finally got dressed. Pantyhose and stockings be dammed, she picked black comfortable leggings and pulled the red knitted dress over her head. Paired with some heeled boot this should work, she mused.  
  
When she returned later that afternoon, she was alone in their home. Hannibal had gone to work, and as she knew him, he would stay there past the time she went to bed, to not run into her again that day. It was their routine since she found out that, against all odds, she was pregnant.  
She discarded her coat and her boots in the hallway and flexed her feet and pressed her hands into her back. She had to get flat shoes, she decided, when she wanted to head out of the house for more than 10 minutes. He high heels didn’t fit anymore because of her swollen ankles and just the boots were still bearable. But even with short heels, walking in them felt uncomfortable after a while.  
Bedelia fixed herself a mug of tea, and went to the living room. Flopping down on the couch in a very unladylike manner she placed her feet on the upholstery and stretched her feet again.  
  
Sighing she looked at her belly, placing her hand on it and tenderly stroking her belly through the fabric of her dress.  
In times like this, when she was alone at home, she tended to speak to her babies. The doctor she consulted had said it helped her bonding with them, letting them know she was there. And that the father also should speak to them, feel them.  
As if anticipating and demanding the touch of another than their mother, her little ones seem to awake from their midday slumber and started turning in side of her again.  
“I know, I know you want him too. You want your daddy, I know you do. You won’t understand why you can’t have him now. When you are older, you might understand,” she whispered and tried to hold back the tears that stung in her eyes.  
Their moving didn’t stop, got even more violent and when the clock hit 10 and she tried to sleep and the movement still hadn’t stopped she grew frustrated. She was used to their moving, to kicks into her bladder, her organs and their constant movements around each other. But it hadn’t been as bad as tonight. Also it added to her frustration from the morning when even painting her toenails was impossible.  
  
Hannibal arrived shortly before midnight, moving nearly soundless in their home and into the shared bedroom. He sure hadn’t noticed she was still awake, after undressing he slipped under the soft covers and turned towards her. He noticed then, that she was watching him, her face tired and already dark circles showing under her eyes.  
They said nothing to each other then and Bedelia just turned onto her side and tried to get a few hours of sleep.  
A kick into her stomach woke her up in the middle of the night, a sharp pain shooting through her. It ebbed away quickly, but it still felt uncomfortable. She figured the babies still weren't sleeping, and since they had been awake since midday she began to worry that something was wrong.  
Hannibal snored lightly next to her, his even breathing showing her how deep asleep he was. She hesitated to wake him up after the quiet argument they had earlier. She feared to be confronted with his disappointment again, with the hurt showing so clear in his eyes she couldn't stand it. Instead she got up, deciding that maybe a calming chamomile tea would help to tire her babies and herself so she could finally get some rest.  
  
Drawing the woolen blanket over her cold body she waited on the couch in the living room for sleep to come. She promised herself she would get back into the bedroom when she felt she was too tired to hold her eyes open. Exhaustion took her soon after, with no chance for her to get back into the warmth of their bedroom. She opened her eyes to a bright morning with Hannibal already off to work.  
Hannibal had woken up to an empty bedroom. It wasn't the first time Bedelia had been up before him since sleep was an issue for her at the moment. She often already occupied the bathroom when he woke up in the morning, so he thought nothing about it when the bed next to him was empty.  
He listened for her then, knowing the sounds she was making when showering or brushing her teeth.  
He waited a few heartbeats, even stopped breathing for a short time to hear her. But there was no sound coming from the bathroom. Frowning, he got up, she might already be in the kitchen, preparing some tea for herself, he thought. Hannibal found the kitchen empty, also no trace of her was found in his study.  
  
When he passed the threshold of the living room he saw her on the couch, blanket tugged up to her chin and hands resting on her full stomach.  
He turned back into the bedroom, showered and dressed before he left the house in a hurry.  
Never had he thought he could be this angry at her, but this was a hard blow. Had she waited until he was asleep to flee from their bed onto the couch? Wasn't she able anymore to even sleep by his side?  
Hannibal had come to terms with her denial in touching her belly. He would try at least, to gain her permission to do so. Her motives still were a mystery to him.  
Silence was surrounding them for the following weeks. They spoke what was necessary. They shared a bed until she would go wandering off to the couch during the night. Her skin looked grey, the circles under her eyes were as big as saucers and Hannibal had noticed her losing weight while their babies grew, expanding her belly even more, letting her look as fragile as never before. He was worried about her, but his own problems were closing in on him as well. Will Graham and Jack Crawford had found him, had contacted Pazzi and were hot on his heels.  
  
He hadn’t told Bedelia, he didn’t want to worry her further.  
It was her who figured out on her own. She had been followed the other day, she had felt eyes on her and had made her way home as soon as possible, using a big tourist crowd to disappear mostly unnoticed.  
When she closed the door to their house behind her, she began packing most of her belongings into the bag that was originally meant as her hospital bag. She packed lightly. And she wondered if she really was prepared to be a mother at all. If she was prepared for what was about to come. What would happen if she wouldn’t escape in time? If she was arrested too, just a few weeks before the calculated birth date. Her feet brought her into the walk in closet, to a Box shoved deep into the lines of clothing. On an impulse she had made a purchase when she had known she was pregnant just a few days after the doctor had told her. She had passed a kids clothing store and on an impulse, she went inside to purchase two romper suits. It was the only thing she had so far bought for the babies, not sure where they would be born, or if she even would be able to carry them to term.  
She had experienced a loss like this before, and she swore to herself she would never make this mistake again.  
  
She folded the small clothes and stashed them into her bag as well as the ultrasound pictures she had saved. They found the way into a side pocket of the bag, so they wouldn’t crumple. The last one that was made just a few days prior was left out. She would leave it for Hannibal.  
He came home battered and bruised and she nearly had a heart attack as she saw him like this. The constant kicking and tumbling around of her babies didn’t make it easier to stitch up his wounds and her exhaustion already seems to be tangible.  
Her bag rested on the table in their dining room, but she was too tired to leave this evening. He knew there would be a bag when he left the bedroom, freshly dressed. He wondered if it was for him or for her.  
“You packed lightly.” He stated and closed the distance between them. “There isn’t much to pack, with nothing fitting and no important things to carry with me,” she replied and their eyes locked. Her hand rested on her stomach, in the fruitless attempt to sooth the tumult inside.  
“You are in pain,” another statement, not a question. “Don’t leave like this.” His words held a plea to them. She wondered if he was begging her to stay with him.  
  
“It’s manageable. They are active. Very active. Constantly,” her eyes clouded with exhaustion, her pale face increasing the look of a worn out woman. He frowned at her, she should be glowing, looking healthy with the babies inside of her and not like she would drop unconscious to his feet every second. The urge to protect her increased and he pulled her towards him, cradling her face in his hands and caressing her cheeks with his thumb.  
Bedelia leaned into his hands, enjoyed the warmth spreading into her through them and her lips gazed his wrist in a sudden want to feel his skin. She closed the distance between them, rising to her tiptoes to reach up to him and capture his lips in a tender kiss. Her arms circled around the back of his neck while his hand stayed on her face. Hannibal enjoyed the tender moment between them after all what had happened in the last weeks and he knew he would miss her even more when they wouldn’t be able to stop.  
Out of instinct one of his hands came to rest on her side to steady her when she stumbled a tiny bit on her toes but her big belly was in the way. And instead of reaching her waist, his hand was planted firmly on the side of her swollen abdomen.  
Waves of unfamiliar feelings flood her, her eyes snapping open and taking in a sharp breath. They both stood still, his eyes drooping to his hand between them. All movement around her and inside of her stilled when his hand was pressed to her stomach and with an unbelieving gaze she looked first down to his hand, and then up again to his face.  
“They… are still” she whispered, as if a too loud noise could shatter the fragile silence around them.  
As if on command, one of the babies kicked exactly the spot where Hannibal’s hand lay, he gasped, taking his hand away from her belly as if burned. “I felt them.” His eyes shot up to meet hers, and unfamiliar emotion on display all over his face.  
"What did you do?" She asks with a look of confusion with a tiny hint of fear in her eyes. The babies hadn't been this still in nearly two month and it unraveled her that just the touch of his hand on her belly sends this strange feeling through her.  
  
Bedelia gripped his hand, this time hesitating for just a split second before she placed it back on her stomach, this time on the front near her bellybutton.  
Again there was warmth rushing through her, and again one of the babies exactly kicked the place where his hand rested.  
"So dumb..." she muttered and turned her back to Hannibal, letting him stand rooted to the spot with confusion written all over his face.  
It seemed like there was no further explanation coming from her regarding her statement and he wondered what she meant. With a voice, shaky like she never heard it before, he asked her:" Is everything ok? What happened? Did I do something wrong?" It hurt her to hear him like this, so utterly confused in this new situation.  
She felt caged by her own overwhelming feelings, anger rising in her and even of she didn't want to, she couldn't hold back a comment. "It seems like YOU did everything right, instead I, the one who thought she would do just the best, was totally wrong." She stormed to their bedroom then, leaving him in the dining room, not a single bit wiser than before.  
It had already started to darken outside when Hannibal decided he had given her enough time to think on her own.  
He opened the bedroom door, finding her small body with the huge stomach in the middle of their bed, one of his pillows clutched tightly to her chest.  
  
He could smell the salt of the tears she must have shed and felt guilty, not knowing what for. The only thing he knew was that he wanted to shoo her problems away, to see her happy again.  
"Can I lay with you?" He asked silently into the room, noticing her eyes pop open. She just had dozed a bit after a realization had hit her and she thought now was the best time to explain to him. She scooted over to make some room for him, and he made himself comfortable on the soft comforter that was spread over the bed.  
"I think there are some things I have to tell you," she started with a small voice, her eyes still down on the pillow in her hands.  
"You are leaving, that much I know, are you trying to tell me they are not mine? Is that why you fled the bed night after night? Why you didn't let me touch them?" He hadn't intended that his words sounded that cold, and he could feel her flinch under the words he threw at her.  
"No.... no," she said, followed by a long pause.  
Hannibal could hear the gears turning in her head, knew she wanted to explain much but couldn't find the right words. "Just tell me Bedelia, talk to me." He pressed after what felt like an eternity just lying still next to her.  
"Yeah... yes I think you deserve some clarity. So, uhm, of course they are yours," she looked up just in time to see relieve filling his eyes. She decided it was also time to close the distance between them, if he still wanted to.  
  
Bedelia put the pillow aside and scooted closer to his side. Without hesitation he offered her his arm to lay on, and she snuggled up to his side, her round middle pressed firmly to his side. Her hand found its usual spot on his chest, and he intertwined her fingers with his. With closed eyes she spoke again. "I thought it would be best for both of us if you wouldn't get attached to them, if I would refuse you to touch them, so that you don't have to suffer their loss too if I left. I didn't imagine us to be like this, like we are right now, Hannibal. I never thought I could feel so deeply for you. I wanted to protect your feelings, and not give someone leverages over you. That’s why I tried to detach you from all of this.” She looked up to him then, their eyes meeting. She guided his hand to her stomach then, placing it on the side, and without hesitation his thumb began to draw small circles on her skin. Bedelia nuzzled her nose into his side, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “This feels so good,” she mumbled, a sad chuckle leaving her soon after.  
“The moving became unbearable sometimes; they kicked so hard I thought they would pop out any moment. I wasn’t able to sleep, just wanted you to hold me, but it would intervene with the plan I had made. I suffered and I let the kids suffer. I went to the couch most nights because I didn’t want to disturb your sleep. And I thought it would get better this way. But it only went worse. If… if I had known the only thing we needed, what I and the kids needed were you… Believe me we would have laid like this every free second of the day.”  
Their eyes locked and both knew they had wasted long weeks of suffering over stupid pride and plans. “I thought you didn’t want me in your life anymore, that you wanted to have them for yourself. You made a plan, but just for you, never for us.”  
  
“I never thought you wanted us in the first place Hannibal. I was frightened to the core when I noticed I was pregnant. Frightened what would happen if you noticed. I thought about keeping it a secret, but you knew, you knew even before I did, right?”  
“You were home late, your eyes swollen, and you told me you wanted to go and see a Doctor. The morning sickness was a small hint, I have to admit. It gave away much. I can remember the night you came back, I was worried sick that something had happened to you. I knew you could go wherever you liked, stay away as long as you pleased. But I didn’t know how you would handle to be pregnant. How the news would affect you. I was full of relief when you came back and the ultrasound pic flew out of your purse like it meant to reach me.” He smiled fondly down at her at that particular memory. His hand that was placed on her stomach explored the new territory, caressed the small bumps created by hands or feet from their children. Bedelia knew he would only have tonight to feel them like this, and she wanted him to at least tonight, feel it all. Her dress was easily lifted and she guided his hand with hers over her skin. She thanked her good dna that there were nearly no stretch marks on her skin as his fingertips ghosted over her naked flesh, leaving a trail of goosebumps where they touched her. Without hesitation he leaned down and captured her lips with his, devouring her mouth like it was his only thing to hold on. Bedelia felt this was goodbye, and she couldn’t stop the sob escaping her lips while he still kissed her.  
His lips still tingled when he remembered that night, already many years ago. He had tried to imagine a lot of times what would have happened if they hadn’t been in danger. If their time hadn’t been limited, would they live together now? Would they have shared a house, he as the father together with his beautiful wife and with his two children?  
  
He often retreated to his Memory palace, where one room was exactly how he imagined the four of them to be. His wards often laughed about him when they saw him with the pleasant smile on his lips and joked that he must be thinking about banging the woman he was constantly drawing.  
Hannibal noted their rudeness and knew they would pay sooner or later for insulting Bedelia like this.  
The clock on the wall opposite his cell chirmed, and on spot he could hear the high heels coming his way. So it was Monday again, the usual time when Alana would grace him with her presence. Smiling, she came into view, suit nearly ironed and no imperfection visible. Alana sat down opposite of him, crossing her legs and just looking over to him.  
“You draw again, I see.” She stated and tugged a sheet of his thick paper out of the folder she was carrying. “If you don’t mind, I would like to state that it is getting quite bored to always look at the same face in your drawings. I am wondering, did you lose your ability to draw other people?” Her remarks had been nasty before, filled with anger and on the hunt for revenge. His response was easy, for him at least. “I don’t want to draw another face. I want to remember this one more than any other face on earth.” He turned his back to her then, not willing to put up with her silly hunt for whatever it was she desired.  
  
“I am wondering, Hannibal, is there a chance that you might… be in love with the woman you draw so often? I am wondering who could hold such a huge meaning to you that actually you could feel an emotion like something basic as love.” Her monologue just hit his back, he made no move to turn to her. Inside he answered her, like he always did. Of course he loved the woman he draws. She was the mother of his children, even if he never had seen them again after she had left him, the night after he was allowed to touch her belly for the first time. She was his touchstone, the thing that made him cooperate with the officials that made him confess everything just to save her. He wonders if she knew about the accusations, that she was as guilty as he was, how he had defied her and taken all the blame. He had done it, even if he didn’t even know if she still was alive, if everything had gone well at giving birth and where she was. No one had seen her ever since, no hint, no clue. It was as if she had vanished completely, what often didn’t mean anything positive.  
But he wouldn’t go down that path again, he had suffered enough when that particular thought had hit him the first time. He always pictured her alive and well, somewhere sunny, with two kids running around her legs and driving her mad. An unexpected chuckle left his throat at the thought of it, the image so vivid in his mind that he thought he was able to step in and just run over the green grass with them, chasing a football.  
“Penny for your thoughts, Dr. Lecter?” Alana Bloom asked him from across the hallway where she was still sitting on her chair, watching him like a hawk would watch its prey. He turned to her then, the smile still on his face and he could see a thin line forming on her forehead. “Just how good it would be on a sunny day outside,” he answered, not intending to reveal any details about his children. He doubted they knew of them anyway.  
  
“That reminds me… I was wondering. Have you ever thought about having kids?” Hannibal let out a well-trained sound of disapproval. He had expected such a question sooner or later, Alana was a mother herself, he knew from his psychological studies that people would project themselves on others.  
“Why, would you and Margot have another little heir?” he shot back, wanting to take the conversation into another direction.  
Alana looked at him with a mix of hater and annoyance. So he had reached his goal and brought her to another topic.  
But he hadn’t anticipated that she would hold onto it instead.  
“Very funny. But it’s not about me, you know that. The other day I had to pick up Morgan a little bit later as usual from kindergarden and there were two boys, twins, that smiled just like you did just now when they ran past me. You see, I was really shocked a moment but that let me to this question. So, Hannibal, have you thought about building a family?”  
It was as if he had been shoved under an ice cold shower, running down his spine, letting his fingertips and feet tingle. It felt like all of his blood was usually gone out of his system, as if he had been drained.  
She had sent him a message. It just could be this way. It was like her to place her children into the same kindergarten than his official psychiatrist, for Alana to see and to ask him about.  
  
Hannibal could see Alana talking further, but didn’t pay attention to her any longer, just imagining his two boys on the playground, just like he could see them in his memory palace.  
“… Morgan wants to go on a playdate with them, he said they were pretty cool. It feels weird to see children that look like you play with my son. They were picked up from their Nanny, a really handsome man. May I have to convince Margot to get a male Nanny for us too?” He peeked up at her words again. Bedelia had a male nanny for his sons? He shoved the thought away, he wasn’t even sure if they were his at all.  
He listened to Alana and her attempt to make small talk, but the image of two boys, looking like a mix of him and Bedelia never left his inner eye.  
It took nearly half a year more before he heard of them again. He was sure he would sound suspicious when he would ask how the playdate had been with his “look-alikes” so he waited for her to come to him with further information. He listened to her monologues of her son more closely, to be sure to not miss any detail that could give him the clear knowledge that she had been really talking about his sons and not another ones twin. He was surprised as she took a picture out of her folder one afternoon while she sat across from him. Alana stood and went to the small window to pass it through to him. He wondered what she was about to show him, and, as they had agreed on, he stayed away from the small gap until she had found her place on the chair once again.  
  
“What are you showing me today, Alana?” He asked, not knowing what he would see just moments later. Her took the picture into his hands and froze on the spot. The only thing that echoed in his mind was one word. His. They were his. The resemblance was remarkable, a perfect mix of Bedelia and him. Surely his dna had made the major deal on the outside. They had his hair color, light brown with soft flecks of her golden hair in between, his cheekbones, just as prominent as his in their small, smiling faces. He couldn’t make out who’s nose they had, the lips were clearly his again, but their eyes stung the most. He felt his heart ache and shatter, remembering looking into these eyes many years in therapy sessions and later many nights in Florence while they shared their bedroom. Her eyes. They had her eyes. Hannibal was glad that Alana was currently talking to a ward that had approached her, instead she would have heard the pained sob that escaped him unwanted. He needed to see them, her, again, no matter what it would take. He placed the picture back into the window for her to take it again, the only picture of his sons he had ever seen. “Your son comes after you, I see,” he stated, distracting from the resemblance the boys on the picture had with him.  
  
Alana eyed him with a curious expression. Did she believe his words? Had he been able to convince her that the resemblance was just in her mind? "You don't think they look like you?" She asked curious. Hannibal looked at her with as much annoyance as possible. "Of course not, it is just a coincidence that they have a similar bone structure in their cheekbones like I have. Their eyes, nose, chin and surely some other attributes lack similarity." His cold words seemed to convince her for now and the idle chat about her son and his playmates stopped soon after.  
Alana was a good actor herself, not sure if she should let him off the hook in a case like this. She had talked with Margot about her suspicions and after seeing the boys for herself even Margot was convinced there was just one suitable father to the children. What still left the question after their mother unsolved. Every time the boys had joined Morgan to play with him a Nanny had brought them to their home and picked them up again. The boys knew their parents were separated and didn't know anything about their father, but they spoke a lot about their mother. Alana was glad that Morgan was curious and would ask, since he had two mommys to look after him while Tristan and Leonas just had one mommy to look after two. So Morgan did her work with asking while she watched the three of them sitting on the rug on her living room floor.  
She heard that their mommy was a writer, often deep into new ideas for her books so the nanny had to pick them up. They didn't mind, Marcus lived with them and was, while they quoted their mom "Their male leading role." Alana had met Marcus as well, a nice very polite and highly educated young man who clearly was a good influence on both of the boys.  
All three kids sat buckled in her backseat while she drove along the huge trees that surrounded the house the boys were living in with their mother and Marcus and Alana wondered if she would be able to snatch a glance at their mother this evening. She had declined the offer of their own driver to drive the children home, curiosity finally winning over to investigate who their mother was.  
After freeing the children out of their seats they walked up the stairs to the brick house with white windows and green shutters. Alana liked the house, had just taken a glimpse into the hallway but found she appreciated its simplicity.  
  
She rang the doorbell, awaiting Marcus to open the door as it usually was. Instead she nearly made a double take backwards when a woman opened the door. A woman she knew, and not on the very best terms. Alana looked at her in shock, and Bedelia, on the other side of the door wasn’t pleased either to see her again. Bedelia had avoided meeting the mother of her boys friend until now, knowing it would bring nothing as unpleasantries. “Good evening Mrs. Bloom,” Bedelia was the first one to regain her posture, opening the door wider for them, smiling politely. Tristan and Leonas ran past their mom, Morgan just looked up to his mother, receiving a nod from her, and followed his friends inside. Making their way past her mother both boys got kiss on the crown of their heads while storming inside. “This really is a surprise,” Alana said, accepting the invitation to get inside. She was led through the hallway, into a cozy living room where the boys already sat on the floor, playing with some of their matchbox cars. Bedelia gestured Alana to sit down, offering her some water from a carafe that sat on a small coffee table. Alana accepted, taking in the interior of the living room. She was surprised it was child friendly, cozy furniture, big loveseats and a chaise lounge with fluffy colorful blankets. The art on the walls was light and friendly, all in all Alana was surprised to find Bedelia living in a house decorated like this.  
  
Jack Crawford had taken her to Bedelia’s former house, an architect’s masterpiece with unusual room shapes and lots of dark rooms. She had to admit, she liked this house better. “I can imagine how you must feel right now. I am sorry. I tried to avoid this kind of contact, knowing that you most likely would have declined the boys playdates when you had known who their mother is.” She took a sip from her waterglass and sat it down on the table again, looking over to the boys playing on the floor. A warm smile spread on her face, an expression Alana didn’t know Bedelia was capable of.  
Alana wanted to say that she didn’t mind their boys playing together. They liked each other a lot, shared time, had sleepovers and would start in the same school in a few months as well. But the only thing that she could say, the only thing she could think about right now was one statement. “They are his, aren’t they?” she asked, regretting her directness the moment the words have left her mouth. A chuckle left Bedelia’s mouth and she looked over to Alana. “I thought it would take you longer to figure out the other half of their dna. And since you won’t be fooled, and it’s clearly not deniable, yes, he is their father. But I would like you to keep that from them. They don’t need to know. No one needs to know.” Alana nodded, understanding that being the children of a sentenced mass murder wouldn’t bring them forward in life. She wasn’t that cruel to ruin some innocent children’s reputation out of pure selfishness.  
  
Alana nodded and was searching for the right words. “So he doesn’t know about them?” she asked, now genuinely interested in the relationship between them. “I left him even before they were born. I preferred safety for us over everything else. He knew I was pregnant though. But he never heard of them after their birth.”  
Bedelia wondered why she told Alana all this, a woman she normally should dislike for all what had happened. But she knew she had to be careful and friendly, now that Alana knew about the secret she kept. To be honest, anyone who saw her twins immediately knew who their father was, but always had been too polite to ask further questions. A well prepared story including sperm donor and IVF had been prepared in advance, but never been necessary.  
Alana nodded to the woman across from her, a comfortable silence sitting between them. She wondered if she should tell Bedelia that she had shown Hannibal a picture she had taken not long ago on one of their playdates. That he knew about them.  
“I might have shown Hannibal a picture of them together with my son. I wanted to hear his opinions about a family for himself, regarding the events that happened with Abigail, and I mentioned that I saw two boys in the Kindergarten group of Morgan that looked like him. If I had known they really were his children I wouldn’t have mentioned them.” She gave Bedelia an apologizing look, the horror written all over her face. Alana surely wouldn’t tell Bedelia that Hannibal in return was drawing her image constantly. Now she got a glimpse of the reason.  
  
Bedelia stood, and walked over to the boys on the rug. Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor and Alana wondered if she was wearing them on a daily basis. Bedelia knelt down and asked the boys if they would mind going up into the play room, because she wanted to speak to Morgans mom for some time. They obeyed, running off the room and up the stairs. Alana watched as Bedelia turned towards a small cabinet on the wall, locked with a key hidden out of children’s reach. Opening the door of it, it revealed to be a bar, stashed with wine and liquor. Bedelia’s hand hovered over the wine bottle, before she grabbed a bottle with amber liquor, most likely a good old whiskey. Bedelia poured herself two fingers in a crystal glass and turned to Alana if she wanted something too. “Just a sip,” she said, also standing up and joining the other woman on the cabinet. Alana took the glass into her hands, taking a deep breath of the earthy aroma of the whiskey in her glass when she noticed that Bedelia had knocked down the content of her glass in one draw. “Feel free to refill you glass,” she said took her own refilled one with her to sit down again. Alana could see how she sunk into the cushions of the upholstery, could see the small cloud forming over her head.  
  
She knew she just had to wait until Bedelia would speak again. She knew she would. “I always thought it would be safe to return to the USA after he was arrested. That there was no chance he would ever get notice of them being so near to him. Shit.” The use of the curse was a new side Alana could see, a normal one. Everyone she had met had spoken in high regards of the infamous Dr. du Maurier. But sitting here with her revealed that Bedelia was just like every other woman who was worried for her kids’ safety.  
  
“I ensure you, Ms. Du Maurier that I will personally hunt him down if he ever would set a foot outside of John Hopkins anytime soon,” Alana said, looking sincere. “Bedelia is fine,” was what Alana got as an answer and a moment she wondered what Bedelia meant. Bedelia herself could sense the momentary confusion and added:” Our kids play together for over a year now. Just Bedelia is fine. No need for formalities.” Their eyes locked over the rim of the whiskey glasses and a smile that mirrored on both faces told them, whatever had happened in the present was forgotten. “Alana is fine too,” Alana smiled, accepting the older womans invitation to call her by her first name.  
The clock on the wall chirmed, announcing the 7th hour of the evening and making Alana aware, that it was bed time for her son. “Bedelia, even if it was a surprise to meet you here, I have to head back home. Its past dinner time already for Morgan and… you know how kids are,” it felt weird to speak about children to the older woman, always picturing her perfect posture when questioned in the FBI headquarters, and seeing her now, in a cozy home, still in high heels, with matchbox cars cluttered over the floor. Bedelia chuckled, nodding knowingly and showed Alana to the front door while fetching the boys.  
  
There was one last request she had for the younger woman, something she had nearly forgotten, but what probably could have been a problem.  
“If possible, don’t wear anything to work tomorrow what you wore in my house. You know how… sensible he is to smells and … just. Don’t.”  
Alana nodded, appreciating how thoughtful Bedelia was to even think about a thing like this. They said their goodbyes, and Bedelia closed the door behind her.  
She smiled down at the boys, ruffling their hair and sending them off to play until she would have dinner ready for them.  
Bedelia entered the kitchen, wondering where the clanging of pots and pans came from. Marcus had his free day today, if she remembered correctly and she hadn’t heard him come home at all.  
Her hands shot up to cover her mouth to prevent a scream from escaping her mouth and alarming the boys upstairs. There he stood, in a perfectly ironed, formfitting suit, a white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves, preparing dinner.  
He looked older, the six years that had passed had let his hair shine with grey streaks. He wore it longer now, some strands hanging into his forehead. His long, slender hands cut carrots with ease into perfect julienne, while she stood mesmerized in the doorway, taking in the picture in front of her.  
How often had she imagined how it would be when he lived with them? It had been numerous times, when she had been overwhelmed with all her duties, with the twins crying constantly and with the FBI still hot on her heels.  
  
She wondered if she should fear him, should run, take her children and run. All thoughts of flight or fight went out the window when he looked up and their eyes locked. The warm amber of his eyes took in all of her, she felt his eyes raking over her, until their eyes locked again.  
Without thinking twice her feet had carried her over to him. He held her arms open for her, knowing she would come to him, but was surprised when instead of a tender gesture, her hand collided with his cheek with a slap that echoed from the kitchen walls. Before he could say anything she had locked her arms around his neck, bringing him down to her, capturing his mouth in a kiss with the same passion the slap just had been.  
It felt like it had been yesterday when she had laid with him on their last night in Florence, when he had stroked her enormous belly, and when she had left the apartment in the middle of the night, tears running over her face. Their kisses felt the same, like nothing had changed, and he held her tight to him. His hands tangled in her hair and roamed her back like they wanted to map every inch of her body.  
  
The need for air separated their mouth, still they were just millimeters apart. Hannibal leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and inhaling her scent deeply. His smile was warm, mirroring hers and they stood like this until the kitchen door banged open, startling them both out of each other’s arms. With a curious look both boys stood in the doorway, looking from one of the grown up to the other. “Mama we are hungry,” Leonas spoke up, taking another step into the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, if you like you can set the table?” Hannibal asked them, and they eyed their mother suspiciously before receiving her nod as confirmation. They busied themselves with plates and cutlery on the round kitchen table while Bedelia looked back and forth between her boys and Hannibal.  
“They never do that when I ask them to,” she spoke with her eyebrows knotted together. Hannibal couldn’t hide his smirk while placing some of the chicken into the grilling pan. “Would you mind fetching us some wine? I believe your good taste in wine hasn’t changed,” he said, ans Bedelia went into the living room to the cabinet to get one of the wine bottles. The telephone on the small table started to ring just as Bedelia was about to open the bottle for them.  
  
She already could imagine who was calling her, and what topic the call would have. She sighed and got to the phone. “Du Maurier,” she asked into the receiver and heard lots of noises on the other side of the telephone. “Bedelia, it’s Alana. I am sending a police patrol your way, Hannibal broke out of John Hopkins during shift switching and…” she stopped, the sirens in the background making it impossible to speak. They faded, surely on their way to her house, and a small sense of panic rose in Bedelia. She tested the waters. “Do… do you think he will come here?” she was satisfied with her intonation of the frightened mother, and Alana seemed to believe the act too. “I am not sure, to be honest Bedelia. The FBI and the police are already looking for him, would you like to have some officers over, just to be sure that everything is fine?” Bedelia thought for a moment. If she declined would that seem awfully suspicious? And would she agree, how much time would they have to pack their things and leave?  
  
“The boys went to bed just now, I think it would just frighten them when they would see the police here. Give me a few moments to think, can I call you back?” Alana didn’t seem to question her decision, she agreed on a call back and Bedelia directly made her way back into the kitchen when she hung up.  
“Do you have a minute?” she asked Hannibal, who was already sitting at the table with the boys. If the matter she wanted to talk to him wasn’t that urgent, she would have appreciated the picture in front of her. They closed the kitchen door behind them while walking further into the hallway. “Alana called. She told me you broke out of John Hopkins. She asked me if I wanted to have a police patrol over here. She knows they are yours, Hannibal. I am not sure how far into the house they will look, but I… have prepared something for a case like this. You have to decide. You can stay. Or leave.” She looked at him expectantly biting her bottom in a nervous habit of hers. “I won’t leave without you,” he stated, his hand making its way up to her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “Not again,” he added and the look he gave her made her heart beat faster. “If you stay here, the policemen will wait on the outside, it will give us more time to prepare everything to leave. I.. might have taken things into my hands and made passports. Just in case you would return..” She looked up at him, smiling, and all he could do was kiss her. He pressed his lips down on hers, his beautiful intelligent Bedelia, who already had waited for him.  
  
“Come, let me show you,” she said and tugged him to the library down the hallway. The room looked normal to him, even he wasn’t able to figure out what she was up to. And then he felt like in a movie, where the gorgeous female lead pulled on one of the chandeliers on the wall and a secret door, hidden behind the bookshelf opened up to reveal a small room behind. “Surprise,” she smiled, and gestured for him to enter. “The room isn’t in the building papers, it has been installed from a previous owner, and imagine my surprise as I discovered it while cleaning up. It has a hidden safe, inside there are four passports for each of us. There are also unregistered dollar and euro notes and a weapon for each of us, except the kids, of course. I have stored a bag already packed for the kids, and one for me, there is… another one where might be some cloth inside that could fit you…” Hannibal was stunned at the way she already had planned a sudden need to leave the country. He was impressed, genuinely impressed that she had thought about everything. The way she was leaning against the doorframe made him mad with want for his longtime companion. He took the few steps that separated them and backed her up against the wall, his hands sneaking around her waist and pressing their bodies as tight together as possible. Her breath hitched in her throat, her pupils were blown wide with want and suddenly everything around them seems less important. Hannibal could feel her heartbeat against his own body, her warmth and her small hand that fisted into the fabric of his dress shirt. It had been too long without the touch of her, and when her hands drifted lower, to the waistband of his trousers he had to bring up each spark of self-control that was left to not make a mess. “Be careful,” he breathed against her neck while his teeth scraped down her milky flesh, tasting her skin, smelling her hair and just feeling her beneath him.  
  
Bedelia smiled into their next kiss, her teeth biting his bottom lip. “I wouldn’t mind a mess,” she stated, and before she could blink Hannibal had lowered his hands down to her bottom and hoisted her up. As if on instinct she wrapped her legs around his waist, her high heels falling to the floor unnoticed while hasty fingers fumbled with the fly of his trousers. Hannibal was glad she was still wearing stockings instead of pantyhose when he pushed up the knee length black dress she was wearing. Her small hands had undone his zipper by now and were trying to get in between them to reach for his throbbing cock. He freed one of his hands from under her cheeks and maneuvered it in between them to shove aside her underwear. He tried himself to focus on his task of undressing her while her warm fingers slid into his boxer briefs and made him gasp at the contact. “Don’t… don’t” he stammered as she began stroking up and down his hard length. “Please,” he added while staying completely still to get his self-control back. Bedelia obeyed his wish and instead moved him to guide him into her. As his tip slid through her wet folds, slid deeper and deeper into her, he thought he had reached heaven.  
  
When he was inside of her balls deep he took a moment to calm himself, he opened his eyes and that second wished he hadn’t her eyes never had looked more beautiful than in this moment and he thought he could spill himself into her just by the look she held for him.  
Her chest heaved up and down with the deep breaths she inhaled, red heat blooming on her breasts. She held her breath when he pulled slowly out of her again, until just his tip was still inside of her, and let it out in a throaty moan when he pushed inside her again, this time with more force than before. They settled for a steady rhythm, both not able to look away, mesmerized by the eyes of the other.  
  
“We have time for slow later,” she finally was able to speak up, releasing him from his agony. He plead to a god he did not believe in as his hips pushed inside her slick heat, years of built up tension leaving him with each thrust and each moan he elicited from her. He knew she wouldn’t reach her own orgasm when he would continue like that, but the promise for a “later” made him selfish for the moment when he began to spill his hot load into her. His balls contracted, and he thought she would drain the last drop out of him the way she squeezed her internal muscles. He stayed like this for another few moments, waiting that his heartrate would go down to normal. He wasn’t that young anymore, his knees aching at the relative small weight that Bedelia was.  
  
Hannibal rested his forehead against her shoulder, her hands stroking his hair lazily, whispering sweet nonsense into his ear to sooth him. When he knew it was relatively safe to move again he slipped out of her, and let her down to her own feet again. Bedelia felt her panties soak with his cum and shuddered in his arms. Without her heels she was even smaller as he remembered when he looked at her. “I have to call Alana,” she said and was about to free herself out of his arms when he held her tight to him. “There are more important matters,” he breathed against her earshell and licked her sensitive spot right under her ear. He felt her shudder and knew what he had to do. Dropping to his knees he hooked one of her legs over his shoulder, making her sway on her feet until she found her balance again. Her hands shot to his shoulders to steady herself, and he smiled against her stocking clad thigh. His teeth gazed the soaked fabric of her black laced panties with his teeth, just over her sensitive clit. An sharp intake of breath was his reward, and her small hands wandering from his shoulders into his hair, her fingernails scraping his scalp. Hannibal smiled again, fueled by her reaction to such a small gesture he became bolder and in one swift move pushed her panties aside, closed his mouth around her clit and pushed two fingers into her still stretched opening.  
  
The double stimulation of his tongue and his fingers working on her, touching her like no one had in all the years since she left Florence made her senses explode with want and need and before she knew she ground her hips against his face, not able to hold back anymore. She had to bite her bottom lip to prevent the moan form tumbling out of her mouth, from giving away what they did to their sons waiting for them in the kitchen. The distraction of this thought made her inattentive for a moment and the next thing she knew were waves and waves of pleasure flowing through her and Hannibal's mouth on hers to silent her loud moans while his fingers continued to pleasure her. She could taste herself on his lips and before she knew what was happening, another orgasm hit her and made her knees buckle.

  
  


Hannibal held her tight to him until she was able to stand on her own again, he wouldn’t risk her to stumble and hurt herself right now. He remembered what she had said before. It was breaking the moment they just had but he knew their time was running out. “We should get the kids and head off. Call Alana on the way, tell her she should send the police, that something seems suspicious. Let them think I took you with me. "

  
  


Hannibal held her tight to him until she was able to stand on her own again, he wouldn’t risk her to stumble and hurt herself right now. He remembered what she had said before. It was breaking the moment they just had, but he knew their time was running out. “We should get the kids and head off. Call Alana on the way, tell her she should send the police, that something seems suspicious. Let them think I took you with me.“ Bedelia looked at him, and he could see the gears turning in her head. Slowly she nodded. “Ok. The boys have a vague idea of an emergency situation. There is a car in the garage in the back, the plates are faked, so it is not traceable. Would you bring the bag into the car, then I will fetch the…our kids.” She smiled at him, the word “our kids” was new to him and he couldn’t place the feeling that was spreading through him. He felt his eyes watering, and had to look away from her, clearing his throat. Grabbing the bags from the floor he was about to head for the door when she stopped him.  
  
“Hannibal,” she said to him, cupping his face in her small hands, and without another word she kissed him, square on the mouth, a chaste, popping kiss that made both of them smile.  
  
He then headed through the back door after fetching the keys and looked for the car she mentioned. Hannibal found the Mercedes covered with a cloth and after removing it he had to admire her good taste. He would have picked the same car if he wanted something fast and luxury, maybe not in matte black, what will draw definitely more attention, but he was all in all pleased with her choice. He had to smile at the child seats and some toys in the backseat, disturbing the upper class image. Had someone told him a few years ago he would have two kids with Bedelia, he would have laughed at them and called them insane. Now he couldn’t imagine anything better.  
  
Hannibal packed the bags into the trunk, shutting the lid when Bedelia and the boys made their way out of the house, all three of them bundled up in warm coats. Bedelia had a spare one over her arm and he was amazed once more about how thoughtful she was. Handing him the coat she opened the backdoor for the kids for them to climb in while Hannibal switched the plates on the car. They both took their seats in the car as well. Bedelia looked to the kids in the back, checking if they were buckled and everything was ok. They had made no fuss when she had told them they would leave. They both were allowed to pack a shared bag with their important belongings while Bedelia stored passports and the guns in her Hermes handbag. Hannibal drove off to the street, and realized they hadn’t talked about their destination yet.  
  
Bedelia seemed to sense his silent question and typed an address into the navigation system. “We are heading to a small private airport; a friend of mine is a pilot there. He is instructed to bring us to Canada, to another private airport. A private jet is waiting there, filled with gas to make it overseas. We just have to decide where we want to go.”  
Hannibal gripped her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers. He looked over to her, again in awe what she had already planned out. “Has this plan always been for four?” he asked her curious. It took her a bit longer to answer than he thought it would, his mood dropping. He averted his gaze from her, concentrating on the street again. When he was about to take his hand from hers, she gripped his hand tight in hers. Bedelia cleared her throat, not sure where to start.  
  
So she decided to start at the beginning.  
  
“When I left Florence I felt like betraying you. After we talked, truly talked, it was like leaving you behind. I was so focused on the children then, I wanted them safe at all cost, and so I didn’t think about you. At first. I went to my aunt’s house in Switzerland, and gave birth in a small private hospital. They asked no questions when I asked to pay them in cash. I thought it would be easier this way. There were some complications during their birth, and I was so happy I got to the hospital in time. I stayed there nearly two month, unable to move, to nurse the kids, to care for them. That was the first time I wished you were there.”  
  
She looked over to him, her eyes glassy. They already had driven for half an hour and she was glad the kids had dozed off in the backseat. She wasn’t sure she could speak freely with them awake.  
  
He could feel how clammy her hand was, how difficult it was for her to explain that all to him. Hannibal gave her hand a small squeeze to encourage her to continue.  
  
Her voice was shaky when she continued:” They drove me insane, they seem to feel that some part of ‘us’ were missing, just as much as I felt it. I was glad when my aunt brought Marcus with her, who just finished his teacher studies but couldn’t get the allowance to work. So I hired him, payed him and gave him a home while he supported me in childcare. It was a great relieve, and he still takes good care of the boys. Please, remind me to call him,” she said and a small smile played at her lips. A sudden rush of jealousy made him huff in annoyance, a reaction that made her comfort him with squeezing his hand. “He grew to be a good friend of mine, Hannibal, but I am nearly 25 years his senior.” Hannibal freed his hand and gripped the steering wheel, a pout forming on his face that made Bedelia laugh and Hannibal frown even more. “It didn’t stop you before.” Hannibal simply stated, looking straight at the street in front of them. The car sped up, rushing past trees and Bedelia simply shook her head.  
  
“Do you mean the “before” before we fake married, before you got me pregnant, before we decided to keep them, before I was worried sick that something could happen to us, before I included you into every plan I made... before… I….” she stopped there, the words on the tip of her tongue, but swallowed them back. Bedelia looked out of the window then, averting her eyes from him, organizing her thoughts. She nearly jumped out of her seat when his hand found its way back to hers, surprising her. Bedelia turned her head towards him and was meeting his gaze. He looked over to her, and his thumb gazed over the soft flesh of her hand. He brought his hand up and kissed her knuckles, and she knew it was his way of an apology.  
  
“Marcus wasn’t allowed to work in France, so he helped me with the boys. He studied further during this time, I looked for the kids during his studies, and he the other time of the day for me to rest. When you were caught and brought to John Hopkins he still hadn’t got his work allowance. So I offered him to come to America with me again. And he did.” Bedelia was glad Marcus hadn’t been home when Hannibal arrived, he surely wouldn’t have survived the meeting. She wondered why he showed such a possessive side, wondered if he meant it, and what they would do, once they reached their destination.  
  
He was right, the plan wasn’t always including him. “We moved into the house, and he is a teacher now at a private school. It was the first time I passed the old places, your house, for example, that I felt something was missing. That you were missing. It took me some time to realize that I wanted you by my side. That was when you were included in the plans.”  
  
A comfortable silence settled between them, filled with gazes and the soft touch of their hands on her lap. Bedelia felt that she had done right including him, now that he was by her side again, she knew it had been the right decision to place the boys into the same kindergarten than Alanas boy.  
  
“Shit..” she muttered, grabbing the bag from under her seat and rummaging around. She pulled out a mobile phone, and then another, looking through the contacts in one, while typing the number into the other.  
Alana picked up at the first ring, sirens and a lot of voices still in the background. “Alana, I made a decision,” she spoke into the receiver, earning a raised eyebrow from Hannibal. “I am on the way to a relative of mine, I don’t know, it felt weird to be in the house alone, and I wasn’t sure the police could help…. Yes, yes we will be safe there…. The kids will be back in Kindergarten soon, I believe they will miss Morgan already tomorrow morning… Yes, a good evening to you too.” Bedelia pushed the “end” button, removed the sim-card from the cheap phone broke it and flung both, the phone and the pieces of the card out of the window.  
  
“Shall I remind you now that you wanted to call this Marcus guy too?” Hannibal said. Bedelia sighed, and looked awfully sad. “I have to, right?” she asked, more to herself than to Hannibal. Bedelia had the number on speed dial, and even if he had told her he would be out most of the night, he picked up his phone after a short time. “Delia, what owns me the pleasure of your call?” Her eyes immediately wandered to Hannibal, looking for his reaction. It was loud wherever Marcus was, and his voice was so loud Hannibal would hear every word. She couldn’t foresee how he would react to the closeness of them. “Marcus, I’m sorry to disturb your evening. Can you go somewhere quieter, there is something you need to know, dear.” She could hear him shuffling, the music and voices growing silent and a door closing behind him.  
  
“Ok, tell me, what happened?” he asked, directly coming to the point. Hannibal could sense that it pained Bedelia a lot to tell him she was leaving, he hadn’t expected them to be so close. “We are leaving,” she choked out, her eyes wet with tears. “I am sorry this is so soon, but we had to leave immediately. I left the keys under the doormat, you know where, we took the Mercedes, so you can take the Rover whenever you want,” she was rambling into the phone, sniffing in between to prevent the tears from falling. Hannibal could hear him interrupt her by saying her name then, and found him utterly rude for a moment. “Delia, Delia, its fine. I knew this day would come sooner or later, you told me, remember?” Bedelia could hear the smile in his voice and a sob escaped her. “I know you wanted this, and I know you will be fine. Will… will you come back?” Marcus asked. “Bedelia shook her head, before remembering he couldn’t see her. “No, no I think not. I can’t tell you yet where we will be going, it’s safer for you if you don’t know. And… I made a small change in the plan, concerning the house.” She bit her bottom lip, worrying if he was accepting his offer. “I called my lawyer and changed the name on the owner certificate, Markus, you did so much for me, if you like, and the house is yours. You always loved the place and let’s face it, you decorated most of it, and I am so grateful and… I will miss you a lot,” she cried now, big tears rolling down her cheeks. “You have been a son to me like my own sons are I will never forget you, honey.” Hannibal gripped her hand in support, realizing now how much help Marcus must have been when she felt such a deep trust to him to tell him their story and include him. He felt foolish now for accusing her of an affair with the boy, when she only had cared for him deeply.  
  
He realized she hadn’t been wrong when she still was his psychiatrist. He couldn’t function as an agent of friendship when the concept was foreign to him. She might have been right, looking at the situation now. Marcus felt overwhelmed by the emotions he had never before witnessed from Bedelia and had to control him not to cry over her departure. Like she said, he had always felt welcome in her home, she had cared for him like she had for the boys, and she always had been a good friend to him.  
“I will miss you dearly, Delia. I love you, you cared better for me than my mom did. The house… I don’t know what to say. I know how stubborn you are, so I won’t argue with you that I can’t take it from you. Believe me, I am really grateful. Be safe, Delia.” He hung up the phone, not wanting her to hear how sad he was that she was leaving. He knew her story, knew about Hannibal and what he was, what they had experienced together, and Marcus wished Bedelia would realize how much she loved Hannibal and that, in the end, they would be safe and happy.  
Bedelia looked at the phone in her hands, her heart aching for the loss of her good friend. She was surprised when Hannibal stopped the car on a small emergency curb, and looked over at her. He could sense she needed comfort and that it wasn’t easy for her to cut that bridge, and he felt utterly foolish for his former words. His hand slid into her nape and his thumb drew small circles to calm her. Bedelia leaned into his touch, and all of a sudden she felt him lean over and tug her towards him.  
The kiss they shared sent jolts through her body, and she felt a flutter in her stomach. His free hand brushed away the tears on her face, caressing her cheek and all the time their eyes were locked into each other’s.  
  
“I am sorry for my comment earlier,” he said, “I didn’t realize how close you were.” Bedelia nodded, accepting his apology and the handkerchief he offered her. “Thank you, Hannibal”, she said, the soft smile from earlier returning to her face. She leaned over to him once more, capturing his lips for a chaste kiss.  
Hannibal started the car again, closing the distance to the small airport not far away. He was keen on leaving the country soon, before it would get difficult for him to bring Bedelia and his kids to a safe place to live with them. To admit he wanted to live with them already felt weird for him. In all the years after she left he never had the urge to see the twins or her. But somehow since Alana had shown him the picture there was nothing else on his mind than his family.  
  
He stumbled over the thought about having a family. Surely it was just the thought that entertained him, but he wondered if he was able to have the young, probably wild and unruly kids and Bedelia around him all the time. An embarrassing thought hit him square as he realized he didn’t even knew their names, even if he was travelling with them. He wasn’t sure if he should ask her, making a fool of himself, or if he should wait until she addressed them separately and learn their names this way.  
As if Bedelia could sense his inner turmoil she looked over at him with a questioning look. He still felt as if she could read him like no other could, one of her looks and she seemed to know what he was thinking, if his mood was good or bad. “What’s troubling you?” she asked, turning her body more towards him and resting her head on the headrest. Hannibal preferred to stay quiet, not sure what to say, how to word his concerns about their attachment and the risk he took while travelling with them.  
“Nothing. Just a thought that crossed my mind.” He tried to look confident, and masked his growing fears of discovery. “You are overwhelmed by everything. By me. By them,” she pointed to the kids in the backseat. “You didn’t expect that it would be that much baggage to travel with, am I right?”  
  
Hannibal wondered how she was able to do this, to know his thoughts exactly like they were and tell exactly how he was feeling. “You ask how I know this? We have been driving together for an hour now, and even at my home you didn’t even ask their names. I can assure you, if you have second thoughts about taking us with you, let me know, then I will arrange an escape for you but will drive home with them again safely.” “No,” he directly blurted out, not sure where the sudden fear of losing them, when he just had met them, came from. The knowing smile Bedelia gave him unsettled him even more, and he felt like he was her patient all over again. “Dr. du Maurier, are you analyzing me? Still?” he asked, steering the car into the driveway that should lead them to the airport. “Dr. Lecter, I quit our Patient Psychiatrist relationship a long time ago. I am just observing at the moment until you want me to participate.” Her using the phrase she had once used in Florence made him shake his head and chuckle. “Tristan and Leonas,” she said out of the blue, confusing him until he realized she just told him the names of their kids. He tested the names, looked into the rearview mirror and slowly began to nod.  
  
There was a hangar coming into view, and Hannibal knew it would be now or never to decide what he wanted. It was still a high risk to take all three of them with him. But Bedelia wouldn’t join him without the boys, and he didn’t want her to leave them behind. But he didn’t want her to leave him ever again. Bedelia showed him one of the smaller hangars, the only one where the light was still on. He followed the route she was leading him, coming to a stop next to the rusty metal door.  
  
He wasn’t sure if he was about to stay in the car while she would organize their pilot, so he was looking at her expectantly. “You can come with me if you like, but you have to promise not to do anything rash. The pilot, Robert, and I we went to college together. And we were together.” She could already see the frown forming on his face. But she knew when she wouldn’t tell him, it would be obvious when Robert and she would meet. There still was an undeniable energy between them, an energy she used to get him into the plan to bring them out of the country when needed. That indeed was a thing Hannibal didn’t need to know.  
“I see,” he said and Bedelia couldn’t believe that he was pouting again.  
“Do you honestly think that I never had any relationships? You are behaving like a jealous kid, Hannibal.” There was one thing Hannibal disliked more than rudeness, and that was being put into his place. He knew he was behaving strange. She didn’t have to point that out.  
  
Bedelia opened her door then, sliding out of her seat gracefully. She shut the door with more force than needed, regretting her action as she saw Tristan stir in the back. Hannibal headed after her when she closed the distance between the car and the hangar, stopping her. He spun her towards him, crashing his lips down on hers. She pushed him away after a few moments, looking angry at him. “If you know me so well, Dr. du Maurier, then tell me, tell me what this is I am feeling. You can figure me out like no one else can, so why can’t you tell me what this is that eats me inside out when I am with you?” Bedelia freed herself from his grip, stepping back from him. “Because, Dr. Lecter, that is something you have to figure out yourself. I am not in the position anymore to tell you. The only thing I tell you now is, that if you wish to keep our company you have to stop acting like you do right now. I need to be sure my kids are safe, and if I can’t I won’t risk anything when they could get harmed. I like you to wait here, and figure out what that is you want. I’ll be back soon.”  
  
She left him standing in front of the car, opening the door of the hangar and shutting it behind her without a glance back.  
Hannibal felt conflicted. He wasn’t so sure anymore if he wanted to face his inner feelings and emotions while on the run. There were other matters that were more important. But he also knew that she wouldn’t join him on his way when he wouldn’t be able to tell her the kids were safe. Would he be able to protect them when something happens? What would happen if they would get caught? She would be arrested this time with him, this time she would be in, including the kids.  
  
As if the sky wanted to deepen his misery it started to rain. It was just sizzling, but it added to his discomfort. He looked up into the clouded sky, the rain making him blink. “Shit,” he muttered and kicked a small stone that lay next to the car.  
When Bedelia emerged out of the hangar, she ducked into the car where Hannibal had already taken his seat to flee from the rain. “The plane will be ready in 15 minutes.” She told him. Somehow she knew they need to have “the talk” now, about a plan, about what would happen next.  
They sat in the car, facing each other, and he felt a lump forming in his throat. He couldn’t take them with him. They always would be in danger, always would be a leverage to him. “It’s ok, I knew,” she said, gripping his hand, bringing it to her face and placing her cheek in his palm. She kissed his wrist then, making him nauseous. No way was he risking their lives for a safe escape. Never.  
  
“If there ever is anything you need, don’t hesitate to contact me, I know you will find a way to do so. I booked a private jet for you to France, I will inform the driver to fetch you from the airport. The house of my aunt is near Saint Valery, I make sure everything is ready when you arrive.” She turned away from him then and his hand sank on his side again.  
Hannibal got out of the car again, not keen on emotional goodbyes. He grabbed the bag out of the trunk, looking at the remaining three. With shaking fingers he unzipped all three of them, quickly scanning through them. He found a plain t-shirt in Bedelia's bag, and without a second thought he stuffed it into his, closing the remaining bags again. He closed the lit the moment the small two propeller machine rolled out of the hangar, getting into place to take off. Hannibal walked the small distance to the plane, one last time turning to the car before he climbed the steps up to get in. Bedelia had left the car and was standing next to the drivers seat now. It was best this way, he told himself. She would be safe. His kids would be safe. No one would be in danger because of him.  
  
She raised her arm, but brought it down again, feeling foolish. This was not waving a friend goodbye.  
  
This was a fare well.  
  
Bedelia had to blink several times before she realized it wasn’t the rain that blinded her sight, but tears that began to fill her eyes. She had glimpsed what could have been when she had entered the kitchen back home, Hannibal and the boys sitting there, waiting for her to join them for dinner. It was enough for her, even if she never had imagined them this domestic. This image would burn itself into her memory, staying there forever, even if she knew she had to forget it. Hannibal was heading to the plane to get to a safe place for him.  
  
Alone.  
  
Bedelia bit the inside of her cheek. She would most likely never see him again. The door of the plane closed, and she could see him put on the headphones. The rain had gotten heavier and she climbed into the driver’s seat, fumbling in her purse for a handkerchief. The tears prickled in her eyes, and her nose began to run. Before she knew what was happening the tears leaked down the bridge of her nose, making her taste the salt on her lips. Her head sank into her hands, her elbows resting on the steering wheel. She wiped at her eyes, smudging her mascara and just making the burning of her eyes even worse.  
  
Her breath hitched in her throat, a sob escaping and before she knew what was happening her head was buried in her hands, uncontrolled sobs escaping her.  
Bedelia hadn’t cried like this since her father had died many years ago. She had never shown emotions like this ever after his death. She blew her nose in the soaking handkerchief and fumbled a new one out of the package that lay on her left side. She would dry her tears and head home, telling everyone it was just a panic attack she had and she would act like nothing had happened. When she turned to blow her nose, she looked out of the driver’s window and froze. There was a figure heading towards the car, and due to the rain she couldn’t make out who it was until he came nearer and one moment she feared something had happened.  
  
When she realized that he was heading to the car she unbuckled her seatbelt and nearly fell out of her seat while trying to get out of the car. The pouring rain sounded loud in her ears when she called out to him.  
“What happened, why are you…” she didn’t finish her sentence, he had been in front of her in just a few strides, tangling his hand in the back of her neck where the water was drenching her hair, the other hand on her waist, pulling her towards him. His warm lips found hers, salty from her tears, pressing, demanding, wanting more.  
  
Bedelia's hands found the way into his jacket, feeling his muscles jerk under her cold fingers brushing the sensitive skin and their cold startling him. Without lessen the intensity of the kiss he mumbled into her mouth “Get the kids and your stuff. I would be stupid to part from you. I did it once. I will not make that mistake again.”  
  
They parted and he got the bags out of the car, running to the waiting plane in the distance. Bedelia didn’t hesitate a second before she opened the back door and unbuckled Tristan who was sleeping soundly, clutching a small crocodile to his chest. He blinked at his mom in confusion, but helped her pull himself up into his arms. Tristan snuggled into the crook of her neck, and she hesitated a moment before she decided she would fetch Leonas at the next walk. She regretted them growing so fast so she wasn’t able to carry both 7 years old at the same time.  
  
Bedelia wrapped her son up in his jacket, pulling the hood over his head to shield him from the rain.  
The plane was still running, Robert drumming his hands impatiently on the Joystick in front of him. Hannibal helped her placing Tristan in the seat and mentioned for Bedelia to buckle him, but instead she ask him to do the task while she would fetch Leonas.  
She hurried back to the car, snagging her handbag out of the front and checking one last time that she had everything, before unbuckling her son and lifting him into her arms.  
He was the crankier one, so it was a better idea she picked him up. He was confused while waking up, clinging to his mother tightly and when the rain hit him his discomfort rose and the little boy began to cry. He shrieked when she shut the door without taking his stuffed bear out to make the stress perfect he didn’t want to board the plane. He struggled to be placed into the seat, even with a lot of coaxing and sweet words from her. Normally she could calm him with that, but the new surroundings made him so uneasy that Bedelia found herself on the edge of tears pretty soon again.  
  
Bedelia was still staying outside in the rain, trying to calm her son and to get into the plane. Hannibal could sense her struggle and climbed out of the plane again, offering her a hand. The boy shied away from him when he first tried to speak to him, clinging to his mother’s neck. But somehow Hannibal managed to spark his interest, the boy was nodding and without hesitation climbed into Hannibal's arms.  
  
It felt strange for him to hold a child, but Bedelia's smile when she observed the situation was worth the first uneasiness. Her smile was wide and her lips quivered when Leonas snuggled into Hannibal's neck, and wrapped his arms around the man. They boarded the plane then, buckling up the children and giving the pilot the go.  
  
Hannibal sat next to Bedelia, opposite of them the children got comfortable again, despite the rocky flight. When they landed on the small airport in Canada they all were happy to set foot on steady ground. She had chartered a private flight to get to France, and Robert had already made an announcement on their arrival so the machine would be ready when they left his small plane.  
  
The boys were in a better mood, seeing the bigger plane that wouldn’t be swaying like the one they just had left, and they weren’t struggling when Hannibal led them to it and up the stairs. Bedelia was left with Robert, the pilot and handed him the keys for the car, still parked in front of the hangar. “Thank you Robert, we are in your dept. The new plates for the car are in the trunk, see it as your payment. “ She smiled at him and gave him a hug goodbye. “Be happy, Bedelia. I think the man doesn’t know how much he cares for all of you yet. Be safe!” he climbed back into the cockpit and waved her goodbye when she made her way up to the plane, carrying the bags with her.  
  
The flight attendant closed the door behind her, taking care of the bags she handed over and advised her to take her seat as soon as possible so they could take off. When she went into the cabin she froze for a moment, surprised by the view that unfolded in front of her. When she had thought the scene in the kitchen would get a place in her memory she didn’t expect this to happen. All three men, Hannibal included, were stripped down to their underwear, all three of them with the same slim legs and light skin, with towels in their hands to dry their still wet hair.  
Her hand flew to her mouth to cover it before the laugh could escape her and give away her presence. Hannibal heard her chuckle and all three of them turned to her and she wasn’t able to hold back the laughter. The similarity had never been more obvious than in this moment, no one would doubt than Hannibal was their father, seeing them like this.  
  
The flight attendant came up behind her, taking her wet coat and handing her another towel. Bedelia had to ask for the bags, because the kids needed dry clothes, something she hadn’t thought about before. She went with the attendant, picking out clothes for all four of them and heading back into the cabin. The kids were already in their seats, wrapped in woolen blankets cuddling with their stuffed animals. Hannibal was seated opposite to them, also a blanket thrown over his legs and folding the clothes they had taken off. A blanket was already on the seat next to him, and she leaned down to him, asking:” Is the seat taken?” Hannibal looked up to her, placing the childrens clothes aside and nodded. “I am sorry Ma’am , this seat belongs to the mother of my children. I don’t know if you have seen her, she is the beautiful blonde woman. But you can have her seat until she returns.” He smiled at the small slap she gave him then, while she started to get out of her wet clothes as well. Before she had left the house she was glad she had changed into a pair of grey chinos and a black pullover, the dress she had worn earlier wouldn’t have been a shield for the rain at all. Her heels were placed in front of her, her trousers and pullover thrown at Hannibal to fold them. She presented the clothes she brought, while drying her hair up and slipping into the jeans and pullover she brought for herself. The flight attendant asked her to buckle her seatbelt, because the plane would take off in a few moments. Bedelia nodded, and took her seat, she would dress her boys when they were safe up in the air.  
  
She hadn’t expected the kids to fall asleep as soon as they reached the sky, so she stuffed the clothes away for later when they would wake up.  
Bedelia leaned back in her seat, making herself comfortable with the blanket over her lap. Hannibal had dressed himself up as well, wearing the dark jeans and pullover she had got him some time ago.  
She checked if anyone could hear the conversation she would like to have with him now, but everyone was busy or asleep as she asked him: „You want us with you?”  
  
It took Hannibal some time to answer her, to figure out what to tell her, now that there was no way back anymore. “Yes, that’s what I want. I remembered the first time you left, still pregnant, and it took seven years to see you again. I.. I missed you Bedelia. And call me selfish, but as I sat on the plane, seeing you climb back into the car I figured out I would never see you again if I would leave you now.” He made a break, sorting through his thoughts to get them right. “I am not only grateful you helped me Bedelia, I want you here. And the boys, too. I want to learn everything about them, all their quirks and their personality. I see so much of you in them, and I feel like I want to be a part of them too. I want to look at them someday and say ‘Yes, that’s what they have inherited from me’. But I can’t experience that when you are far away from me. I would have regretted leaving you behind, even if I will be worried sick every time you are on your own. Taking you with me means a big leverage, when someone knows you exist, you will possibly be in danger. That’s what made me hesitate. I told myself it would be safer if you stay in your home, far away from me. “ He looked over to her and Bedelia could see the honesty in his eyes. She took his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers and giving his hand a light squeeze.  
  
“Thank you for changing your mind, Hannibal. I know this is a great risk or you, another big burden on your shoulders. I am glad you didn’t take the easy way like I did back in Florence, fleeing from everything and hiding for no one to be found. I took the opportunity from you to choose on your own, to figure out if we would be able to handle the children. I didn’t give you the chance and I am so glad we are trying this out. And you will see, there is a lot of you in them. If you like, I can tell you about them?”  
Hannibal didn’t need to think about it long, before he agreed. Bedelia made herself comfortable next to him then, pushing the armrest out of their way and tucking her feet under her legs. Hannibal wrapped his arm around her automatically, tugging her nearer to him.  
  
“Like you might have noticed already,” she said with a tiny bit sarcasm in her voice “Leonas is always a bit cranky when he has to get up, or when he is woken up. He was like this from the start, always the one sleeping in while Tristan already was wide awake. That’s the reason they already have separate bedrooms. Tristan is the creative one, he plays piano and loves art, Leonas is bored with both. When he is awake, he is outside, playing football, climbing trees. He had his arm broken 2 times already, because he fell down a tree and another time the stairs in my house. He is a whirlwind, but really sensitive. So when he is about to lose in a game, he would most likely throw away the cards and head outside.” She smiled fondly at the kids sleeping opposite of her, both heads rolled to the side, tightly wrapped in the blankets.  
Hannibal chuckled lightly at her explanation. He could find himself in the kids already due to her explanations. “The first thing I noticed when Alana showed me the picture were the resemblance. No wonder Alana directly thought of me when she saw them. They exactly look like me when I was a kid, you know? The second thing that I noticed were their eyes, they looked exactly like yours and were as deep blue as the ocean. I was worried Alana would notice my reaction to the picture, to your eyes looking back at me.”  
  
He sought her eyes then, clear and blue and full of an emotion he couldn’t place. He brushed her tousled hair out of her face then, a wave of emotions washed over him. She was with him now. And if he could help it she would never be anywhere else than with him. Hannibal was still playing with her hair, and she started to feel the sleep coming over her. When she blinked away the sleep again she was stretched over both, Hannibal's and her seat, neatly tucked in with two blankets. A pillow had been placed under her head and slowly she rose up to stretch her sore body. The sun shone through the windows of the jet and Bedelia checked her watch to see that they weren’t far away from France anymore. The smell of coffee and breakfast waved through the plane as well, making her stomach growl and making her aware that she hadn’t eaten anything since lunch yesterday. She rose from the seats, stretching her aching back and folded the blankets and placed them back on her seat. The children were gone from their seats, as well as Hannibal. The jet itself had a private area in the back, and without bothering for her shoes she went through the folded door to see them already seated on a small table again. Tristan was on Hannibal’s lap, while he helped him coloring in a book he must have gotten from one of the flight attendants. Leonas was opposite of them, with small cars he let roll over the table. All had a Tristan peeked up from his book and with his missing front tooth the smile he gave his mother looked even more adorable. “Good Morning Mama, “ he chirped, earning himself a frowning look from his brother opposite of him. Bedelia strode over to them, giving both her boys a kiss on their cheeks and ruffled their messed up hair. She hesitated to greet Hannibal with a kiss as well, still unsure about how to tell her children that they finally had met their father.  
  
“Good Morning Bedelia,” he relieved her from the decision what to do and offered her a smile and also a cup of coffee. She sat next to Leonas who instantly shuffled nearer to his mother and buried his face into her side when she put her arm around him. As soon as she had taken the seat the flight attendant came to their table, asking if they wanted to have breakfast now.  
They agreed to eat something now, the flight wouldn’t take much longer and the car ride afterwards would also take them two hours. Without many words spoken they had breakfast and afterwards got cleaned up the most possible way in the small plane bathroom.  
The kids were already dressed in the clothes she had taken out of their bags when they had boarded the plane. Bedelia wondered if Hannibal had help them get dressed and wondered why her kids, that normally would behave a bit shy around strangers, were so confident in his presence.  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by Hannibal joining her behind the curtain that separated the bathroom from the passenger area. She was brushing her teeth, and was rinsing out her mouth when he came up behind her and softly pulled her hair back so she could rinse her mouth. She smiled at their reflection in the mirror, remembering a time when he had helped her trough the morning sickness with holding her hair back. They hadn’t spoken much this morning, the presence of the kids somehow made them tiptoe around each other. Now, here, behind the curtain, Hannibal's lips found her soft spot on her neck, just below ear. His lips brushed her skin lightly, sending goosebumps up and down her spine.  
  
She turned in his arms, catching his lips in a chaste kiss. “Finally a proper good morning,” he said, smiling against her mouth. Her smile mirrored his as she replied:” We shouldn’t do this in front of the kids, they need to understand the new situation before and then we might talk with them about you. I feel they become comfortable around you very fast, what makes me believe that we are on a good way.” Hannibal hummed his approval against her lips, before taking a step back, giving her more space. “The flight attendant said we will be landing soon and we should take our seats. They also arranged the driver to be directly on the airfield so we don’t have to go through the gates. Bedelia, this all,” he made a gesture with his hand, “Thank you. I know we haven’t reached our final destination yet, but I am glad I will reach it with you on my side. This may sound weird, but just the 12 hours we spend together made me think that maybe there is another life, a better one waiting for me when we arrive. And that’s because of you and the children.” Bedelia closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his middle and rested her head on his chest. She still hadn’t pulled on her high heels what made her nearly one and a half heads smaller than him.  
  
“The boys affected me too over the years. They make you soft, caring and love you without expecting something in return. It is a strange feeling at first, but you get used to it. And when you realize how much you love them you would never let them go again.” She looked up at him then, smiling softly. He would understand what she meant when he discovered his affection towards the boys, she was sure of it. It had been a strange feeling at first, having two small creatures depending on her, but when she had nursed Tristan the first time her heart felt like it would explode. The moment would come for Hannibal too, maybe not now, maybe it would take some time, but the boys would fill his heart. His soft side was already peeking out under the veil every now and then, but she still could see his true nature, his true self.


End file.
